Large office complex planned for north end of Waterloo

April 20th, 2011

WATERLOO — Strong demand for office space in Waterloo has led an Oakville-based construction company to buy more than six hectares (15 acres) of industrial land with plans to redevelop it into an office campus.

Cooper Construction Ltd. has purchased the former Conestogo Plastics property at 630 Weber St. N., near Benjamin Road.

“Waterloo’s office market is performing very well and we wanted to be a part of it,” Bill Cooper Jr., vice-president of real estate for Cooper Construction, said Tuesday.

The company will undertake a multi-million dollar project that involves putting up three two-story office buildings of about 70,000 square feet each.

There will be a total of 210,240 square feet of new office space when the campus is completed. The first office building will be constructed and ready for occupancy by the end of this year, and the others will follow suit depending on how quickly the space gets leased, Cooper said.

There is an industrial building of about 150,000 square feet on the site, but it will be taken down by the end of June to make way for the redevelopment.

Cooper Construction has been involved in a number of projects in Waterloo Region, but this is the first time it has been involved in an office development here.

The company is currently involved in the development of a 73-hectare (180 acres) industrial park in Guelph.

Joe Benninger, senior sales associate at CB Richard Ellis in Waterloo Region, which will manage leasing of the Weber Street campus, said this is one of the bigger office developments that the city of Waterloo has seen in some time.

The strong demand for office space is coming from the high-tech sector, as well as traditional sectors such as insurance and finance, he said.

“There is excellent absorption of office space in Waterloo, a low vacancy rate and a strong rental rate. So the leasing fundamentals have been very strong and yet there has been very little on the supply side. The timing is perfect for adding this type of product to the market,” he said.

This article appeared on the record.com, April 20th, 2011, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher.